#visions 2023 illustrators book

[graphicpolicy]

Yen Press Starts Off 2024 with New Licenses

Yen Press Starts Off 2024 with New Licenses #manga #comics #comicbooks #graphicnovel

Yen Press has announced nine new titles joining its June 2024 lineup, including seven manga (A Sinner of the Deep Sea; Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghra; Sister and Giant: A Young Lady Is Reborn in Another World; Penguin Highway; Senpai, This Can’t Be Love!; Sword Art Online: Kiss & Fly; This Monster Wants to Eat Me), one novel (Demons’ Crest), and one artbook (Visions 2023__Illustrators Book). A…

[simulantion]

Love me some artbooks 😍❤

[mostlysignssomeportents]

A year in illustration, 2023 edition (part one)

(This is part one; part two is here.)

I am objectively very bad at visual art. I am bad at vision, period – I'm astigmatic, shortsighted, color blind, and often miss visual details others see. I can't even draw a stick-figure. To top things off, I have cataracts in both eyes and my book publishing/touring schedule is so intense that I keep having to reschedule the surgeries. But despite my vast visual deficits, I thoroughly enjoy making collages for this blog.

For many years now – decades – I've been illustrating my blog posts by mixing public domain and Creative Commons art with work that I can make a good fair use case for. As bad as art as I may be, all this practice has paid off. Call it unseemly, but I think I'm turning out some terrific illustrations – not all the time, but often enough.

Last year, I rounded up my best art of the year:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/25/a-year-in-illustration/

And I liked reflecting on the year's art so much, I decided I'd do it again. Be sure to scroll to the bottom for some downloadables – freely usable images that I painstakingly cut up with the lasso tool in The Gimp.

The original AD&D hardcover cover art is seared into my psyche. For several years, there were few images I looked at so closely as these. When Hasbro pulled some world-beatingly sleazy stuff with the Open Gaming License, I knew just how to mod Dave Trampier's 'Eve Of Moloch' from the cover of the Players' Handbook. Thankfully, bigger nerds than me have identified all the fonts in the image, making the remix a doddle.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/12/beg-forgiveness-ask-permission/#whats-a-copyright-exception

Even though I don't keep logs or collect any analytics, I can say with confidence that "Tiktok's Enshittification" was the most popular thing I published on Pluralistic this year. I mixed some public domain Brother's Grimm art, mixed with a classic caricature of Boss Tweed, and some very cheesy royalty-free/open access influencer graphics. One gingerbread cottage social media trap, coming up:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/21/potemkin-ai/#hey-guys

To illustrate the idea of overcoming walking-the-plank fear (as a metaphor for writing when it feels like you suck) I mixed public domain stock of a plank, a high building and legs, along with a procedurally generated Matrix "code waterfall" and a vertiginous spiral ganked from a Heinz Bunse photo of a German office lobby.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/22/walking-the-plank/

Finding a tasteful way to illustrate a story about Johnson & Johnson losing a court case after it spent a generation tricking women into dusting their vulvas with asbestos-tainted talcum was a challenge. The tulip (featured in many public domain images) was a natural starting point. I mixed it with Jesse Wagstaff's image of a Burning Man dust-storm and Mike Mozart's shelf-shot of a J&J talcum bottle.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/01/j-and-j-jk/#risible-gambit

"Google's Chatbot Panic" is about Google's long history of being stampeded into doing stupid things because its competitors are doing them. Once it was Yahoo, now it's Bing. Tenniel's Tweedle Dee and Dum were a good starting point. I mixed in one of several Humpty Dumpty editorial cartoon images from 19th century political coverage that I painstakingly cut out with the lasso tool on a long plane-ride. This is one of my favorite Humpties, I just love the little 19th C businessmen trying to keep him from falling! I finished it off with HAL 9000's glowing red eye, my standard 'this is about AI' image, which I got from Cryteria's CC-licensed SVG.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/16/tweedledumber/#easily-spooked

Though I started writing about Luddites in my January, 2022 Locus column, 2023 was the Year of the Luddite, thanks to Brian Merchant's outstanding Blood In the Machine:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/26/enochs-hammer/#thats-fronkonsteen

When it came time to illustrate "Gig Work Is the Opposite of Steampunk," I found a public domain weaver's loft, and put one of Cryteria's HAL9000 eyes in the window. Magpie Killjoy's Steampunk Magazine poster, 'Love the Machine, Hate the Factory,' completed the look.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/12/gig-work-is-the-opposite-of-steampunk/

For the "small, non-profit school" that got used as an excuse to bail out Silicon Valley Bank, I brought back Humpty Dumpty, mixing him with a Hogwartsian castle, a brick wall texture, and an ornate, gilded frame. I love how this one came out. This Humpty was made for the SVB bailout.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/23/small-nonprofit-school/#north-country-school

The RESTRICT Act would have federally banned Tiktok – a proposal that was both technically unworkable and unconstitutional. I found an early 20th century editorial cartoon depicting Uncle Sam behind a fortress wall that was keeping a downtrodden refugee family out of America. I got rid of most of the family, giving the dad a Tiktok logo head, and I put Cryteria's HAL9000 eyes over each cannonmouth. Three Boss Tweed moneybag-head caricatures, adorned with Big Tech logos, rounded it out.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/30/tik-tok-tow/#good-politics-for-electoral-victories

When Flickr took decisive action to purge the copyleft trolls who'd been abusing its platform, I knew I wanted to illustrate this with Lucifer being cast out of heaven, and the very best one of those comes from John Milton, who is conveniently well in the public domain. The Flickr logo suggested a bicolored streaming-light-of-heaven motif that just made it.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/01/pixsynnussija/#pilkunnussija

Old mainframe ads are a great source of stock for a "Computer Says No" image. And Congress being a public building, there are lots of federal (and hence public domain) images of its facade.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/04/cbo-says-no/#wealth-tax

When I wrote about the Clarence Thomas/Harlan Crow bribery scandal, it was easy to find Mr. Kjetil Ree's great image of the Supreme Court building. Thomas being a federal judge, it was easy to find a government photo of his head, but it's impossible to find an image of him in robes at a decent resolution. Luckily, there are tons of other federal judges who've been photographed in their robes! Boss Tweed with the dollar-sign head was a great stand-in for Harlan Crow (no one knows what he looks like anyway). Gilding Thomas's robes was a simple matter of superimposing a gold texture and twiddling with the layers.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/06/clarence-thomas/#harlan-crow

"Gig apps trap reverse centaurs in wage-stealing Skinner boxes" is one of my best titles. This is the post where I introduce the idea of "twiddling" as part of the theory of enshittification, and explain how it relates to "reverse centaurs" – people who assist machines, rather than the other way around. Finding a CC licensed modular synth was much harder than I thought, but I found Stephen Drake's image and stitched it into a mandala. Cutting out the horse's head for the reverse centaur was a lot of work (manes are a huuuuge pain in the ass), but I love how his head sits on the public domain high-viz-wearing warehouse worker's body I cut up (thanks, OSHA!). Seeing as this is an horrors-of-automation story, Cryteria's HAL9000 eyes make an appearance.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/12/algorithmic-wage-discrimination/#fishers-of-men

Rockefeller's greatest contribution to our culture was inspiring many excellent unflattering caricatures. The IWW's many-fists-turning-into-one-fist image made it easy to have the collective might of workers toppling the original robber-baron.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/14/aiming-at-dollars/#not-men

I link to this post explaining how to make good Mastodon threads at least once a week, so it's a good thing the graphic turned out so well. Close-cropping the threads from a public domain yarn tangle worked out great. Eugen Rochko's Mastodon logo was and is the only Affero-licensed image ever to appear on Pluralistic.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/16/how-to-make-the-least-worst-mastodon-threads/

I spent hours on the sofa one night painstakingly cutting up and reassembling the cover art from a science fiction pulp. I have a folder full of color-corrected, high-rez scans from an 18th century anatomy textbook, and the cross-section head-and-brain is the best of the lot.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/04/analytical-democratic-theory/#epistocratic-delusions

Those old French anatomical drawings are an endless source of delight to me. Take one cross-sectioned noggin, mix in an old PC mainboard, and a vector art illo of a virtuous cycle with some of Cryteria's HAL9000 eyes and you've got a great illustration of Google's brain-worms.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/14/googles-ai-hype-circle/

Ireland's privacy regulator is but a plaything in Big Tech's hand, but it's goddamned hard to find an open-access Garda car. I manually dressed some public domain car art in Garda livery, painstakingly tracing it over the panels. The (public domain) baby's knit cap really hides the seams from replacing the baby's head with HAL9000's eye.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/15/finnegans-snooze/#dirty-old-town

Naked-guy-in-a-barrel bankruptcy images feel like something you can find in an old Collier's or Punch, but I came up snake-eyes and ended up frankensteining a naked body into a barrel for the George Washington crest on the Washington State flag. It came out well, but harvesting the body parts from old muscle-beach photos left George with some really big guns. I tried five different pairs of suspenders here before just drawing in black polyhedrons with little grey dots for rivets.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/03/when-the-tide-goes-out/#passive-income

Illustrating Amazon's dominance over the EU coulda been easy – just stick Amazon 'A's in place of the yellow stars that form a ring on the EU flag. So I decided to riff on Plutarch's Alexander, out of lands to conquer. Rama's statue legs were nice and high-rez. I had my choice of public domain ruin images, though it was harder thank expected to find a good Amazon box as a plinth for those broken-off legs.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/14/flywheel-shyster-and-flywheel/#unfulfilled-by-amazon

God help me, I could not stop playing with this image of a demon-haunted IoT car. All those reflections! The knife sticking out of the steering wheel, the multiple Munsch 'Scream'ers, etc etc. The more I patchked with it, the better it got, though. This one's a banger.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/24/rent-to-pwn/#kitt-is-a-demon

To depict a "data-driven dictatorship," I ganked elements of heavily beribboned Russian military dress uniforms, replacing the head with HAL9000's eye. I turned the foreground into the crowds from the Nuremberg rallies and filled the sky with Matrix code waterfall.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/26/dictators-dilemma/#garbage-in-garbage-out-garbage-back-in

The best thing about analogizing DRM to demonic possession is the wealth of medieval artwork to choose from . This one comes from the 11th century 'Compendium rarissimum totius Artis Magicae sistematisatae per celeberrimos Artis hujus Magistros.' I mixed in the shiny red Tesla (working those reflections!), and a Tesla charger to make my point.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/28/edison-not-tesla/#demon-haunted-world

Yet more dividends from those old French anatomical plates: a flayed skull, a detached jaw, a quack electronic gadget, a Wachowski code waterfall and some HAL 9000 eyes and you've got a truly unsettling image of machine-compelled speech.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/02/self-incrimination/#wei-bai-bai

I had no idea this would work out so well, but daaaamn, crossfading between a Wachowski code waterfall and a motherboard behind a roiling thundercloud is dank af.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/03/there-is-no-cloud/#only-other-peoples-computers

Of all the turkeys-voting-for-Christmas self-owns conservative culture warriors fall for, few can rival the "banning junk fees is woke" hustle. Slap a US-flag Punisher logo on and old-time card imprinter, add a GOP logo to a red credit-card blank, and then throw in a rustic barn countertop and you've got a junk-fee extracter fit for the Cracker Barrel.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/04/owning-the-libs/#swiper-no-swiping

Putting the Verizon logo on the Hinderberg was an obvious gambit (even if I did have to mess with the flames a lot), but the cutout of Paul Marcarelli as the 'can you hear me now?' guy, desaturated and contrast-matched, made it sing.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/10/smartest-guys-in-the-room/#can-you-hear-me-now

Note to self: Tux the Penguin is really easy to source in free/open formats! He looks great with HAL9000 eyes.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/18/openwashing/#you-keep-using-that-word-i-do-not-think-it-means-what-you-think-it-means

Rockwell's self-portrait image is a classic; that made it a natural for a HAL9000-style remix about AI art. I put a bunch of time into chopping and remixing Rockwell's signature to give it that AI look, and added as many fingers as would fit on each hand.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/20/everything-made-by-an-ai-is-in-the-public-domain/

(Images: Heinz Bunse, West Midlands Police, Christopher Sessums, CC BY-SA 2.0; Mike Mozart, Jesse Wagstaff, Stephen Drake, Steve Jurvetson, syvwlch, Doc Searls, https://www.flickr.com/photos/mosaic36/14231376315, Chatham House, CC BY 2.0; Cryteria, CC BY 3.0; Mr. Kjetil Ree, Trevor Parscal, Rama, “Soldiers of Russia” Cultural Center, Russian Airborne Troops Press Service, CC BY-SA 3.0; Raimond Spekking, CC BY 4.0; Drahtlos, CC BY-SA 4.0; Eugen Rochko, Affero; modified)

[stephdrawsjohnlock]

Fandom Trumps Hate 2024!

Looking for a scene drawn for your story? A piece to help inspire you to write a fic? A new icon? How about covers for your story with full print-ready Graphic Design service? Maybe a pinup, or some trading cards (up to 10)?? Maybe a gift for someone, or just your vision of a character(s) (up to 3 character sheets) for your AU?

Well, that’s just some of the stuff I’m willing to offer for this year’s @fandomtrumpshate​​ Charity Event! FTH is a WONDERFUL community project that supports amazing non-profits through donations for fanworks via  this wonderful annual event!

I am participating for my fifth year by offering 2 fanarts for y’all in either the BBC Sherlock or Good Omens fandoms, starting at 20$ for the non-profit of your choice!

Here are some past FTH pieces I’ve done, if you’re interested in seeing the scope of the work you would be getting from me:

2020:

GO - :FTH 2020 – Lagniappe for Big_Edies_Sun_Hat:

GO - :FTH 2020 BONUS – Réveillon for Big_Edies_Sun_Hat:

2021

SH - :This Year: (FTH #1 for @discordantwords​​)

SH - :Burlesque Johnlock: (FTH #2 for @ohlooktheresabee​)

2022

SH – :A Quiet Moment: (FTH #1 for @totallysilvergirl)

SH – :Against the Wall: (FTH #2 for @anarfea)

2023

SH – :Let Me Come to You: (FTH #1 for  ShakespearelovedLadyMacbeth)

SH – :Couch Cuddle: (FTH #2 for @discordantwords)

SH – :More Every Minute: (FTH #3 for @totallysilvergirl)

And of course, you can browse all my art to see my range:

@stephdrawsjohnlock​​

stephdrawsfanart on Instagram

@stephratte​​ (Primary Multifandom Art ​Blog)

stephratte on deviantART

I will draw any ship from any of the above fandoms. All my work is done as a hi-res 3000x3000 print-ready piece in Procreate. Traditional media (markers, India ink, and pencils) is also available if you prefer, done on illustration or marker paper at the paper’s size, with the option of acquiring the original if you choose. I will also do it at a requested size if you have a preferred format for something specific (like a book cover or a comic panel). Feel free to DM me if you have any questions.

The browsing begins on Feb. 26, and the bidding opens on March 1! I hope I once again get a chance to do a couple fantastic pieces for y’all!! I love doing this so much, so keep an eye out for my info post soon once it’s official!

[feminist-butch-menace]

Women in art - history series (Medieval times)

In these times countries developed a political system based on the monarchy. Most people were farmers who lived in small rural villages. Women were primarily responsible for childcare, food preparation, tending livestock, and helping at harvest time to gather crops. Women who lived in the larger towns were responsible for childcare and food preparation. They also helped their father or husband in the many trades and crafts needed to support city life, including creating textiles, leather goods, or different metal objects or managing shops and inns.

In this period, the beliefs and teachings of the Catholic church generally informed people's lives. Biblical readings reflected in medieval art frequently portrayed Eve as responsible for leaving paradise, generating the long-held belief that women were weaker than men, easily tempted to sin, and inferior to men. Based on this story and other biblical tales, men's authority over women was emphasized, teaching women to be submissive.

Hildegard of Bingen

Was born in Germany. Her family name was unknown, although early writers did note the family was wealthy. She suffered from poor health as a child, with trouble walking and seeing. Hildegard entered the convent and learned to read, write and sing religious psalms as part of her spiritual training. Even as a child, Hildegard believed she had visions of the future. Hildegard's works included medical information, visionary messages, and philosophical theories. She became a well-known composer of sacred music, and more of Hildegard's liturgical chants have survived than any other medieval composer. Hildegard wrote letters and poems, doing her extensive writings into illuminated manuscripts.

Herrad of Landsberg

Was the Abbess of Hohenburg, which is a convent in eastern France. She was born into a noble family and entered the abbey when she was young. Many girls and women were from wealthy families and received a broader education than most young girls at the time. As Herrad grew older, she rose within the abbey, eventually becoming the abbess. At first, she worked to rebuild the abbey and incorporate more of the surrounding land under the abbey's jurisdiction. As the abbess for twenty-eight years, she was well-liked both inside and outside the abbey.

Sibilla von Bondorf

Was a nun in a Clarissan convent in Germany. Much of von Bondorf's work was for prayer books or books used in the liturgy. Her primary work was a set of illustrations based on the lives of Saint Francis, Saint Clara, and Saint Elisabeth. Copies of her work were widely used among other convents. Religious changes in Germany in the 1400s brought opportunities for women in convents to create and produce manuscripts and liturgical books.

Source: GUSTLIN, Deborah and GUSTLIN, Zoe, 2023. Herstory: Women Artists in History.

[disneytva]

Dynamite Comics and Disney Comics Announce Prequel “Gargoyles: Dark Ages” Mini-Series Slated For June 2023.

Dynamite Comics and Disney Comics   announced today an exciting new miniseries event that will continue to expand their hit comic, Gargoyles Gargoyles: Dark Ages will feature a journey into the past and the Manhattan Clan’s origin story, thanks to franchise creator Greg Weisman.  Weisman is joined by artist Drew Moss (”Vampirella/Red Sonja, Copperhead”) and letterer Jeff Eckleberry. The book also offers a perfect entry point for newcomers to the franchise and comic series.

Dark Ages will have covers featuring younger visions of iconic characters, with a new mix of artists separate from the main series to offer fans and collectors more unique portrayals of the cast. Legendary artist Clayton Crain (Venom, Spider-Man) leads the way, alongside Alan Quah, Mirka Andolfo, Kenya Danino, and Erica Henderson. Unique and limited edition variants feature an action figure-inspired piece, some pitch artwork from the TV show, and covers by both Jae Lee and interior artist Moss.

Gargoyles: Dark Ages #1

July 2023

Written By Greg Weisman Art By  Drew Moss

As Goliath’s narration explained, “One thousand years ago, Superstition and the Sword ruled. It was an Age of Darkness. It was a World of Fear.” For a time, the Gargoyles of that era lived peacefully alongside humans, each species having sworn to protect the other. But that truce didn’t last, and in 994, the Gargoyle Clan was cursed to sleep as stone statues for a millennium – until they eventually awoke in modern Manhattan. Gargoyles: Dark Ages, set in the year 971, depicts the origins of the Gargoyle-Human Alliance – some twenty-plus years before things came to a bad end. In this never-before-explored era, monsters still come in all shapes and sizes, forcing Gargoyles and Humans to work together to repel the forces of evil, which threaten to bring the Alliance down, from both without and within.

“I have ALL these stories that I’ve wanted to tell for decades now, so I pitched a number of ideas to Dynamite and Disney, and this is the one that excited everyone the most,” said Weisman. “This is an exciting era for the Gargoyle Clan (not to mention an exciting time in Scottish History), and I’m thrilled we’ll all have a chance to explore it together.

“I really enjoyed the show back in the ’90s and was super excited to be even considered for this project,” said Moss. “I am trying to do interior art traditionally, so this allows me to do some washes and other things that allow me to get my hands dirty. I hope to stay true to the art from the show while infusing my own art style to it.”

In addition to the first issue having an oversized 24-page story, each issue of Dark Ages will also feature four pages of complementary prose storytelling by Weisman with spot illustrations. This extra material will allow him to tap into corners of the mythos in a way that will amplify the impact of the entire series. The series will also feature high-quality cardstock covers on each variant. At 40 total pages, Gargoyles: Dark Ages #1 will be the next ultimate celebration of Disney’s iconic franchise.

[bastardangel408]

8 Itzcuintli: A vision of my guide

Moonday, Aquarius Moon (25 September 2023)

Virgo Mercury trines Taurus Jupiter

Details from a 1996 Sadao Hasegawa illustration from his book, Paradise Visions. My tome for visions from Xochipilli and Xochiquetzal, my House Gods.

[tremendouskoalachild]

Evolution of Vernestra Rwoh art

April 2020: concept art reveal (art by who? i haven't been able to find out).

Notably, her lightsaber is blue in this art. Her hair is ambiguously black/purple and tied in a bun.

January 2021: first appearance (cameo in Light of the Jedi and main cast in A Test of Courage) - pictured on AToC cover and interior art by Petur Antonsson.

Vernestra is wearing her concept art clothing but her lightsaber has her final purple color. Her hair is purple as well and in a distinctive long ponytail.

February to May 2021: The High Republic comic appearances as a minor character, with art by Ario Anindito.

Her tattoos are present in the previous art but more visible here. She is wearing her hair similar to her original concept art. This is also the first time we've seen Vernestra in the brown outer robes.

June 2021: variant cover of The High Republic issue 6 by Marco Turini.

July 2021: cover of Out of the Shadows by Ario Anindito and Grzegorz Krysiński.

Vernestra's hair seems pinker here, though it's probably because of her lightsaber's reflection.

December 2021: Vernestra's story in The High Republic Adventures Annual 2021. Cover by Stefano Simeone and variant by Derek Charm, art by Yael Nathan.

This story takes place an undefined number of years before the main book plot, and lets us see Vernestra's Padawan braid. Her hair is a lot purpler on the covers and blacker in the comic. She is also wearing a Stellan-style white cloak over her robes.

January 2022: Mission to Disaster with art by Petur Antonsson.

She looks similar to the illustrator's previous work on A Test of Courage, though we get a good look at her outer robes this time.

February 2023: the reference book Chronicles of the Jedi with art by Yihyoung Li.

Here we see Vernestra in ceremonial Jedi robes, standing next to her taller student, having a hyperspace vision, and wielding her lightwhip. All iconic aspects of her character.

April 2023: new concept art at Star Wars Celebration.

The colors are a lot more vibrant than in the original art. It is also one of the very few times we see her smiling instead of calmly focused or in combat.

April 2023: YA boxset cover art by Tara Phillips.

This is the closest close-up we've seen of Vernestra, showing her tattoos in detail.

October 2023: Japanese edition of Out of the Shadows, with art by 5Health.

The cover art especially makes her eyes look blue-ish.

November 2023: phase 3 concept art by Ario Anindito.

Big change! First time we've seen her outside of Jedi clothing. Her hair is very purple, and obviously shorter.

March 2024: cover art for Defy the Storm by Corey Brickley.

First canon appearance of her phase 3 look, closely following the concept art.

[silvermoon424]

My manga collection (October 2023)

I did a post detailing my manga collection back in 2021, but it's grown a lot since then so I figured I'd make a new post! It was also a good time to do so because we're repainting my room and while there's usually a ton of anime merch in front of the books on my shelves, now it's all been packed up. So there's a clear look at the books without me having to move anything, lol.

Anyway, without further adieu, here we go! My manga collection is largely shoujo (specifically magical girls) and horror manga.

Pet Shop of Horrors by Matsuri Akino

Pet Shop of Horrors: Tokyo by Matsuri Akino

The Clique by Yishan Li

Frozen II manga by Arina Tanemura

Dark Metro by Tokyo Calen and Yoshiken

Yokai Rental Shop by Shin Mashiba

Confidential Confessions by Reiko Momochi

Pichi Pichi Pitch (aka Mermaid Melody) by Michiko Yokote and Pink Hanamori

Magical Girl Site by Kentaro Sato

Reiko the Zombie Shop by Rei Mikamoto

Les Miserables (manga adaptation) by TszMei Lee

Nightmares for Sale by Kaoru Ohashi

Presents by Kanako Inuki

Mail by Housui Yamazaki

Dark Water by Meimu

Tale of a White Night by Tooko Miyagi

Goth by Otsuichi and Kendi Oiwa

Beautiful People by Mitsukazu Mihara

Attack on Titan: No Regrets by Gun Snark and Hikaru Suruga

In Clothes Called Fat by Moyoco Anno

A Girl on the Shore by Inio Asano

Bride of Deimos by Etsuko Ikeda and Yuuho Ashibe

Limit by Keiko Suenobu

Helter Skelter by Kyoko Okazaki

Dolls omnibus (in Japanese) by Yumiko Kawahara

Ibitsu by Haruto Ryo

A God Somewhere (Western comic) by John Arcudi and Peter Snejbjerg

Beauty (Western comic) by Hubert and Kerascoët

Ah! My Goddess by Kōsuke Fujishima

Only One Wish by Mia Ikumi

Higurashi When They Cry: Festival Accompanying Arc by Karin Suzuragi

Chronicles of the Grim Peddler by Lee Jeoun-A

PTSD Radio by Masaaki Nakayama

Elfen Lied by Lynn Okamoto

Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit by Motoro Mase

Happy Sugar Life by Tomiyaki Kagisora

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood by Hirohiko Araki

An Ojamajo Doremi artbook (in Japanese)

Mermaid Saga by Rumiko Takahashi

Dolls by Yumiko Kawahara

Maid-sama by Hiro Fujiwara

Franken Fran by Katsuhisa Kigitsu

Hell Girl by Miyuki Eto

Gurren Lagann by Kotaro Mori

Doll by Mitsukazu Mihara

Mantis Woman by Senno Knife

Various Sailor Moon artbooks from the anime, manga illustrations by Naoko Takeuchi, and fan artbooks

Sailor Moon Eternal Edition by Naoko Takeuchi

Sailor V Eternal Edition by Naoko Takeuchi

Puella Magi Madoka Magica by Hanokage

Puella Magi Madoka Magica: The Different Story by Hanokage

Puella Magi Madoka Magica: The Wraith Arc by Hanokage

Puella Magi Madoka Magica: The Rebellion Story by Hanokage

Puella Magi Oriko Magica by Kuroe Mura

Puella Magi Oriko Magica: Sadness Prayer by Kuroe Mura

Puella Magi Tart Magica by Golden Pe Done

Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story by Fuji Fujino

Assorted PMMM and Magia Record artbooks

Pokemon Adventures (aka Pokemon Special) by Hidenori Kusaka and Mato/Satoshi Yamamoto. I own the complete set of the RBG, Yellow, GSC, FRLG, Emerald and HGSS arcs as well as a few volumes from the RS, DP, and Black/White arcs.

Various Pokemon 4koma (in Japanese)

Pokemon: I Choose You by Ryo Takamisaki

Phantom Thief Pokemon 7 by Miho Asada

The Rise of Darkrai by Ryo Takamisaki

Pokemon Diamond and Pearl Adventure by Shigekatsu Ihara

The Electric Tale of Pikachu by Toshihiro Ono

The Art of Pokemon Adventures by Satoshi Yamamoto (both English and Japanese versions)

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Ginji's Rescue Team by Makoto Mizobuchi

Pokemon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea by Makoto Mizobuchi

Various Junji Ito Manga:

Dissolving Classroom

Fragments of Horror

The Liminal Zone

Sensor

Black Paradox

Gyo

Uzumaki

Tomie

Deserter

Tombs

Lovesickness

Smashed

Shiver

Frankenstein

Remina

Venus in the Blind Spot

No Longer Human

Twisted Visions (artbook)

Uzumaki coloring book

Uzumaki (original printing) by Junji Ito

Museum of Terror by Junji Ito

Soichi by Junji Ito

The Drifting Classroom by Kazuo Umezu

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency by Hirohiko Araki

Orochi by Kazuo Umezu

Be Very Afraid of Kanoko Inuki! by Kanoko Inuki

Wonderland by Yugo Ishikawa

Shadows House by Somato

I Had That Sane Dream Again by Yoru Sumino

Is Love the Answer? by Uta Isaki

Nightmare Inspector by Shin Mashiba

The Ring by Misao Inagaki

Wonder House of Horrors by Miyako Cojima

Puella Magi Suzune Magica by GAN

Puella Magi Kazumi Magica by Masaki Hiramatsu and Takashi Tensugi

Magia Record: Another Story by U35

I also have some manga in storage like Inuyasha and Kitchen Princess, but that's about it!

[questing-wulfstan]

#écrimûre : a masterpost of Mûre's fanfictions for The Sandman

+ What is a comb worth to a King ?

Dreamling | Teen And Up | 1377 words | Canon Compliant “... well, I would have expected the King of Dreams and Nightmares to have bed hair but you don’t actually sleep, do you ? How is it, your hair is as tangled as if you did ー and did not comb for several nights ? And how does it not look remotely the part ?”

+ Of dormice and teapots

Dreamling | Gen | 2391 words | Alternate Universe Hob Gadling used to not be so fond of dormice indeed; yet somehow or other and irremediably since he had started cohabitating with a creature who likewise relishes burrowing in paper, it has become his term of endearment of choice. There is much more than his sole typing cadence to Dream’s similarity with the small animal, after all. an ad lib of @nicolodigenovas's Reassurance

+ Of the manifold devices through which stories are told

Dreamling | Teen And Up | 2514 words | Canon Compliant #Hob wanders in the library of the Dreaming the night that follows his 1489 meeting with Dream #Dream has to deal with it In which a raven contemptuously picks on a worm and finds out there is more to his love for books than burrowing in their paper.

+ On the ductility of the constituent matter of bodies : an essay by Robert Gadling, PhD

Dreamling | Explicit | 2451 words | Canon Compliant Dream of the Endless is Shaper of Form, among a multitude. His own form above any other, for reasons diverse and counting pleasure among their number. Robert Gadling is a privileged witness of the phenomenon. an expansion of my ad lib on @lenreli Morphussy drabble

+ An EPIPHANY of POPPIES upon the BATTLEFIELD, or Robert Gadling and Delirium of the Endless' Adventures through No Man's Land

Gen | Explicit | Graphic Depictions of Violence | 27k words | Hob Gadling rescues Dream of the Endless from the Fishbowl April 1940, On a French battlefield, Hob Gadling doubts his will to persevere in being alive for the second time of his existence. He swallows morphine in the hope to soothe his horror-scarified mind, and summons a mirage of the stranger who occupied his thoughts as the patron of his immortality. In a Japanese psychiatric ward, Delirium of the Endless is alerted by Dream's irruption in her realm, who she found missing when she sought his company on her quest for the Prodigal. Disappointment overcomes her as she finds it was but an image of her brother conjured by a mortal, and so it does Hob when her eruption dismisses the vision. Delirium will not resign herself to her exponential loss of brothers however, neither will Hob Gadling withhold his aid from any entity in distress, whether the stranger or his younger sister ; they just might hold the might to liberate Morpheus between their four hands … written on the occasion of the @endlessbigbang 2023, with brilliant showstopping spectacular cover and illustration by the talented incredible amazing @mock-arts

[demi-shoggoth]

2023 Reading Log, pt. 11

51. The Book of Fun by Russ Frushtick. This is a collection of anecdotes about and descriptions of various ways that people have fun, such as toys, games, festivals and theme parks. Each page has a paragraph or two of text and a painting to accompany it, and the book covers everything from the history of Coney Island to the time World of Warcraft had a plague. It’s a fun little miscellany, a good bathroom reader type of book, but not very substantial.

52. Queer Ducks (And Other Animals) by Eliot Schrefer. This book is aimed at young adult audiences (think high school students) and is about animal sexuality. It summarizes quite a bit of research, including pretty new material, covering homosexual behavior in animals. The thesis, of course, is that animals have a wide range of sexual behaviors, so these existing in humans as well is perfectly natural. The book also has interviews with a number of queer biologists about their research and their experiences with representation, intersectionality and other topics. Plus, there’s cartoons! Honestly, the cartoons are probably my least favorite part; they’re cute and have a funny premise (a QSA meeting at a high school for animals), but the animals are all mean and judgy with each other. This feels like it misses the point, even if it might be more accurate to the high school experience. Still, the writing is good, and it covers some stuff I had never heard of, like velvet bucks and other mammals that have common intersex members.  

53. Sentient by Jackie Higgins. This book is about senses, using examples from the animal kingdom as a launching point to discuss how the sense works in humans. The book starts with vision, covering the many (tumblr famous) cones of the mantis shrimp, but how recent evidence suggests their color vision isn’t actually particularly good. I was familiar with most of the animal examples discussed, but a lot of the content on human health and senses was new to me. The material that wasn’t new to me, like the controversy over whether humans have pheromones are not, is told very well. And the coverage of the different kinds of touch, and how humans have touch receptors that seem to be linked to areas that are commonly groomed in other primates that are connected to things like mood and mental health… well, that helped put my touch starvation into context.

54. The Devil’s Atlas by Edward Brooke-Hitching. I usually quite like Edward Brooke-Hitching books, so this one was something of a surprise disappointment. The book talks about how different religions and cultures have conceptualized heavens, hells and other afterlives, with copious illustrations. My first complaint is the sorting into heavens and hells, when a lot of the afterlives discussed don’t really fit into the model of paradise or torment. The coverage of each is pretty superficial—there’s a post-script about utopias (including More’s Utopia) that I feel could have been cut in place of more thorough takes on the religions. My biggest complaint, though, is an editing one. No fewer than eight chapters are cut off, so that the last sentence (or even paragraph) is incomplete. It’s remarkably frustrating, and it took me right out of the book.

55. Snakes of the World by Mark O’Shea. Another in the X of the World series put out by Princeton University Press, this is pretty similar in content to the other books in the series. The first quarter or so of the pages are devoted to an overview of the biology of the group, and the rest of it is surveys of its biodiversity, organized by subfamilies and geographic regions. Mark O’Shea also wrote Lizards of the World, and this book seems in many ways to be a direct sequel to it. The main draw, of course, are the species accounts, which include gorgeous photography of a wide variety of species, including some very obscure taxa.

[fashionbooksmilano]

Botanical Art to Cut Out and Collage

Over 500 Botanical Illustration to inspire Creativity

Royal Botanic Gardens Kew

David & Charles, Pines Hill, Exeter 2023, 128 pages, paperback, 21x27,5cm, ISBN 97811446309933

euro 30,00

e-mail if you want to buy booksinprogressmilano@yahoo.it

Scissors and glue stick at the ready... inject a wealth of botanical beauty into your creative projects with this sumptuous collection of images from the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew archive. Whether you're looking for vintage botanical ephemera to enhance your journal or scrapbook pages, want to make your own collage art, or simply have a range of botanical elements at your fingertips for gift-wrapping, card-making, vision-boarding and more - this stunning collection will give you over 500 images to cut out and create with, in whatever way you choose. Featuring over 500 images, this book presents a wide variety of botanical art across a range of chapters - from flowers to cacti, fruit and vegetables, and even fungi. The images are printed on one side only so that all images can be used, and each page is backed with lovely botanical patterns that can also be used as paper elements, so no scrap is wasted. Botanical art is as popular today as it has ever been, perhaps even more so, as we all realise the importance of connecting with nature in an increasingly fast-paced world. It has been scientifically proven that even looking at pictures of plants can have a calming effect on the mind, lowering stress levels and supporting relaxation. The same is true of making things by hand - away from screens and digital distractions - and so combining the traditional craft of collage with botanical art is an immensely mindful activity that will benefit all who have a go. Alongside the 500 images, you will find guidance on how to use the book, with collage ideas and tips and tricks for getting the most from this absorbing art form. Cut it up, stick it down and watch your creative projects blossom before your very eyes with this bumper book of botanical illustrations from Kew.

04/01/24

[steffiemolla]

I’ve been working on a lot of things over the past 6 months for the new year-

One thing I had a vision for following my book “sick kid”, since I draw so much about different things, was to make themed zines.

That way anyone only interested in my art about one subject could keep up with what I’ve been drawing and writing as the years go by, cheaper and easier.

Each book will have illustrations from 2020-2022 based on the theme of each title, along with my favorite writings (or even secret ones) of the past year.

25 pages, full color. $10 per zine 🙂❤️

January 2023

Let me know which one you’re interested in!

[nanowrimo]

NaNo Interview: 2023 Camp Designer Elizabeth Goss

Camp NaNoWriMo is almost here! You’ve probably already seen the beautiful papercut inspired designs in our shop. Today, we’ve interviewed our graphic design Elizabeth Goss about her project!

Q: Your design for Camp this year is unique: it's our first time working with a papercut artist! Can you tell us a little about your history with papercut, and how you got started in this art form?

In college, I had to create a cut paper animation inspired by the work of Lotte Reiniger. I fell in love with the process of papercutting. I’ve gone through several style changes over the years, but I’ve been cutting paper since that project.

Q: What was the trickiest element of the process for you? What was the most fun?

I really enjoyed this whole process. It was wonderful to have so much creative freedom. The trickiest part was wanting to turn all my sketches into final art! That’s pretty unusual. I may try to finish a few pieces over the summer, just for myself.

Q: NaNoWriMo is all about challenging ourselves to take on the sometimes painstaking work of writing and editing. What parallels do you see between noveling and papercutting?

I think there are some powerful parallels between writing a novel and papercutting. Whether you’re working with words or paper, it takes tremendous patience and persistence to create a finished work that matches the vision in your head. I also think both processes require a little audacity. It takes courage to bring something into existence and even greater daring to share that precious creation with strangers.

Q: If your papercut practice was a sandwich, what kind of sandwich would it be?

Oh, what a fun question! If my papercutting were a sandwich, it would be a grilled cheese—simple ingredients, endless creative possibilities. Papercutting is a wonderfully accessible art form. It doesn't require specialized or expensive tools, just paper and something to cut with, yet you can create an enormous variety of work. I love a classic grilled cheese sandwich, but I appreciate that, if the mood takes me, I can throw in some caramelized onions or pesto and enjoy something totally different and delicious. Papercutting is the same way. It offers endless variations and styles to explore.

Elizabeth Goss is an illustrator, author, and papercutter based in the Pacific Northwest. Her first picture book My Way West: Real Kids Traveling the Oregon and California Trails (West Margin Press, 2021) won the Paterson Prize for Books for Young People. Her new picture book, All About Nothing (Charlesbridge, 2023) is a collaboration with decorated children’s author Elizabeth Rusch and celebrates all the positives of negative space.

[uispeccoll]

Guest Post from John Martin Rare Book Room

Hardin Library for the Health Sciences

When classes visit, I usually set out several books on a particular subject or time period. Students often ask why some of the books are so much larger than others, especially if one of our "elephant" books is out - folios ranging roughly from 55 to 100 cm (22 to 39 in).

This got me thinking about just what our largest and smallest books might be. As of January 2023, the largest and smallest bound books in the JMRBR collection are the 1747 Tabulae sceleti et musculorum corporis human (76 cm/30 in) by Bernhard Siegfried Albinus (1697-1770) and the 1527 Anatomice, sive Historia corporis humani (11 cm/4 in) by Alessandro Benedetti (ca. 1450-1512), respectively.

ALBINUS, BERNHARD SIEGFRIED (1697-1770). Tabulae sceleti et musculorum corporis humani [Diagrams of the skeleton and muscles of the human body]. Printed in Leiden by Johannes & Herman Verbeek, 1747. 98 pages [40 illustrations]. 76 cm tall.

Let's start with our big book of anatomy. Bernhard Siegfried Albinus was a Dutch physician, anatomist, and professor of medicine who lived during the last half of the 17th century and the first part of the 18th. He was part of a physician anatomist family, along with his father, Bernhard Albinus, and brothers, Frederick Bernhard Albinus and Christiaan Bernhard Albinus.

Albinus started his studies at the University of Leiden at the age of 12. He studied under some of the most famous medical minds of the day, including Bidloo and Boerhaave, and eventually in Paris with Frederik Ruysch and Jacques-Bénigne Winslow. Albinus then succeeded his father as the professor of the practice of medicine at the University of Leiden, while his brother Frederick, succeeded Albinus as the chair of anatomy.

Albinus wrote many works, but none were as famous or controversial as the monumental Tabulae. It took twenty-two years to make and a great deal of Albinus's own money. He worked closely with the artist Jan Wandelaar to create the detailed and occasionally whimsical images in the book.

Albinus was driven to execute his vision for the book and was exacting in his work with Wondelaar. The work became so intense that Wondelaar eventually moved in with Albinus to expedite the process. Unlike many anatomists who published before Albinus, he was interested in creating an idealized form of human anatomy, "homo perfectus." This ideal, as Albinus saw it, meant assembling body parts from different cadavers into a single illustration instead of illustrating a single body.

To help maintain proportion and accuracy, Albinus and Wondelaar developed a hanging grid that was placed in front of the skeletons. To allow for close-up observation to capture finer details, a proportionally smaller grid was placed closer to the skeleton. With Albinus intensely controlling the details of the bodies, some have suggested that Wondelaar must have felt creatively stifled. With Albinus focused on the bodies alone, Wondelaar was then free to express his creativity through the backgrounds.

As can be seen in the illustrations above, he included elements of nature and classical architecture, the most famous of which is his scene including Clara the rhinoceros. Petrus Camper, a contemporary of Albinus and fellow famed Dutch anatomist, was Tabulae's greatest critic. He criticized the book for its method of assembling the "homo perfectus," but mostly for Wondelaar's backgrounds. I suspect Camper was no fun at parties.

BENEDETTI, ALESSANDRO (ca. 1450-1512) Alexandri Benedicti, physici, Anatomice, siue, Historia corporis humani ; ejusdem Collectiones medicinales, seu Aforismi [Anatomice, sive Historia Corporis Humani - Anatomy, or the History of the Human Body]. Printed in Paris by Simon Du Bois, 1527. 167 pages. 11 cm tall.

Now on to our tiny tome, Alessandro Benedetti's Anatomice, sive Historia Corporis Humani from 1527. Benedetti was born around 1450 near Verona, Italy. Unlike Albinus, Benedetti was not born into a medical family but rather a farming family. Regardless, he eventually made his way to Padua and earned his doctorate in medicine.

After practicing for many years in Greece, in 1490 he returned to Padua as the Chair of Anatomy and Surgery. Benedetti's lectures were popular attractions for students, other physicians, and the famous. The Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian I (to whom Anatomice was dedicated) attended a lecture in which Benedetti dissected an abdomen. Along with many medical works, he authored a report on the First Italian War (1494-1495) recounting his observations as surgeon general for the League of Italian Princes (the Italian army taking on the invading French army of Charles VIII).

First printed in Venice in 1502, Anatomice, sive Historia Corporis Humani was a hit in the medical community. It deals with many medical and surgical subjects, including gallstones, the opening of the female urethral glands, the passage of the bile into the duodenum, the treatment of syphilis and blennorrhagia (it sounds bad - and it is: excessive discharge of mucus associated with gonorrhea), and a method for safely cutting out bladder stones.

Most notably, Benedetti includes a description of nasal reconstruction by means of a skin flap taken from the arm. The procedure is the same as the one the Branca family practiced in Sicily in the middle of the fifteenth century. The Brancas kept the operation secret and never published it. If this sounds familiar, that's because Tagliacozzi published this so-called "Italian" method in 1597 in his famous De curtorum chirurgia per insitionem which I profiled in the December 2021 newsletter. This method is most often referenced with Taglicozzi, but Benedetti profiled it almost 100 years before him!

Whereas Albinus's book is all about the illustrations, Benedetti's book focuses on the text. But that does not mean it is without fun imagery. The banner image at the top shows a few examples of the many delightful illustrated initials found throughout, except for the initial A which was left unadorned. Seems like an interesting creative choice. Or did something go wrong and the printer needed a quick replacement?

--Damien Ihrig, curator of John Martin Rare Book Room

[elioli-art]

Our very humble spread in the early release of the new VISIONS2023 book by PIXIV. So much amazing art….

preorder on the pixiv website or amazon!

You can preorder here according to your country of course https://www.amazon.co.jp/VISIONS-2023-ILLUSTRATORS-BOOK-pixiv/dp/4046816376